Fort Smith-based transportation firm Arcbest Corp. posted a fourth quarter profit of $15.3 million, or 57 cents per share -- a 58 percent drop from the same period a year ago when it reported a profit of $36.6 million, or $1.37 per share. The results, released Wednesday after the stock market closed, topped Wall Street expectations for the three months ending Dec. 31. Arcbest posted adjusted earnings of $1.01 per share, up from the 92 cent average of analysts surveyed by Zacks. Revenue, which also beat expectations, was $774.3 million, up from $710.7 million a year ago. Brad Delco, a Stephens Inc. analyst, said Arcbest posted stronger results in the company's Asset-Light and LTL (ABF Freight) segment compared to what he and other analysts were tracking. Arcbest also beat revenue expectations on news of higher-than-expected tonnage per day ratios for ABF Freight, according to a Stephens Inc. research note written by Delco. On the negative side -- ABF Freight yields fell short of … [Read more...] about Fort Smith trucker posts $15.3M profit in 4Q, down 58%

Kat Stafford Detroit Free Press Published 8:00 AM EST Jan 24, 2019 Anistia Thomas’ mind raced when she saw the muzzle flash from the AR-15 rifle. Thomas said she watched as her ex-husband, former state Sen. Virgil Smith Jr., a Detroit Democrat who represented the 4th Senate District, raised the rifle and fired. Thomas said she was faced with a split-second decision, as she stood that night of May 10, 2015, on the sidewalk near his house: Run or let fear take hold. She ran. “I went into survivor mode,” Thomas recalled in her first in-depth interview since the incident, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. “When I started seeing the flashing fire from the gun, I felt like there was an angel there protecting me. I said, ‘OK, survivor mode. I need to think fast. I can either get frantic and get scared or I’m going to pony up and get out of here and save my life.’ ” More: Case against ex-lawmaker Virgil Smith revived … [Read more...] about Ex-wife of former state Sen. Virgil Smith speaks out

Greg Cornett, director of manufacturing for Walther, describes the first steps in assembly and testing of a PPK pistol at the Walther Arms site in Fort Smith. - Photo by Ben Goff FORT SMITH -- The iconic and sleek Walther PPK is considered one of the most easily identified pistols in history and now is being built in Arkansas at the gun-makers U.S. headquarters. The pistol is commonly called a classic by experts and casual gun-owners alike. It gained cache as a trophy taken by World War II GIs fighting in Europe and later cemented its pop and gun-culture legacy as the firearm carried by fictional super-spy James Bond. But since 2014 there has been no production of the PPK or PPK/S in the U.S. Before that, Maryland-based Smith and Wesson made the pistol for Walther under contract beginning in 1998. Bret Vorhees, director of product development for Walther Arms -- the American branch of Germany-based Carl Walther GmbH, -- said it was time to bring the pistol's production back … [Read more...] about Arkansas-made PPKs set to ship; Walther’s Fort Smith unit rolling out the popular pistols